Board of Education

The Bethlehem Central Board of Education is composed of seven members who serve three-year terms. Click here to read more about our BOE members. Members are elected by the voters in the district to establish policy and direct the administration of our schools. As your representatives, the Board exercises the community’s rights to citizen control over public education. Every Board of Education in the State of New York has legal and financial control over local school matters, subject only to limitations imposed by the United States Constitution, federal law, state law, regulations of the Commissioner of Education and, of course, the will of local residents as expressed in local elections.

Contact the Board of Education

To contact the Board of Education, address correspondence to the District Office at 700 Delaware Ave., Delmar, NY 12054. Or you may call the superintendent’s office at 439-7098. The Board also has an e-mail address to which you can send your comments or concerns. Send your e-mails to boe@bcsd.neric.org.

Board of Education Meetings

Bethlehem Central Board of Education meetings are usually held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Meetings are occasionally added during the school year, particularly in February and March for budget discussions. Meetings begin at 7 p.m., at the Bethlehem Central High School Library Media Center, 700 Delaware Ave., Delmar. [unless otherwise noted]. All Board meetings are open to the public.

Please visit the Board of Education schedule page to see information about our next BOE meeting, including the agenda and minutes from prior meetings.

If a Board of Education meeting is cancelled due to inclement weather, the information will be posted on the district homepage.

Board of Education meetings are televised on TV-18/Bethlehem each week on Sundays at 6 p.m.

Board Meeting Agendas

Copies of the meeting agenda are available at each meeting and online as a PDF file [usually by the Monday before the meeting]. Any resident of the District may also obtain a copy of the agenda, upon request, on the Monday or Tuesday preceding a meeting by calling the Superintendent’s Office, 439-7098.

These agendas are prepared by the Superintendent and are forwarded to the Board members prior to each meeting so they can be well informed on agenda topics requiring action. Copies of the agenda are also sent, before each meeting, to officers of parent and employee organizations, representatives of the news media and to the school district’s informational desk at the Bethlehem Public Library.

Visitor Participating in Board Meetings

At every public Board of Education meeting, there are two separate opportunities for visitors to participate. Both are listed on the agenda as “Recognition of Visitors.” Visitors are asked, upon being recognized by the Board President, to introduce themselves and identify the organization they are representing (if any).

The first “Recognition” occurs early in each meeting, and at this time, the Board is open to comment on any subject which is on that meeting’s agenda. This guarantees residents the chance to offer opinions on actions slated to take place later in the evening. Individuals are asked not to speak longer than three minutes. A total of thirty minutes will be allowed for public comment at this time.

A second “Recognition” is on each agenda at the conclusion of regular business, and residents may then speak to the Board on any school-related subjects. Again, individual speakers will be limited to three minutes, with all discussion at this time limited to 15 minutes.

Executive Sessions

In addition to its regular meetings, it is sometimes necessary for the Board to hold executive sessions. These sessions may precede or follow regular meetings and are for the discussion of sensitive subjects such as personnel matters and employee contract negotiations. All official actions, however, must and do take place at public meetings.